The Peasant War in Germany

Zabern,  and  defeated  them  as  early  as  May  23  at  Pfedersheim.  A  series  of  atrocities  (in
Pfedersheim  alone  eighty-two  were  executed)  and  the  capture  of  Weissenburg  on  July  7
terminated the insurrection here.
Of  all  the  divisions  of  troops  there  remained  only  two  to  be  vanquished,  those  of
Hegau–Black Forest and of Allgaeu. Archduke Ferdinand had tried intrigues with both. In
the  same  way  as  Margrave  Casimir  and  other  princes  tried  to  utilise  the  insurrection  to
annex  the  church  territories  and  principalities,  so  Ferdinand  wished  to  utilise  it  to
strengthen  the  power  of  the  House  of  Austria.  He  had  negotiated  with  the  Allgaeu
commander, Walter Bach, and with the Hegau commander, Hans Mueller, with the aim of
inducing  the  peasants  to  declare  their  adherence  to  Austria,  but,  both  chiefs  being  venal,
their  influence  with  the  troops  went  only  so  far  that  the  Allgaeu  troop  concluded  an
armistice with the Archbishop and observed neutrality towards Austria.
Retreating from the Wuerttemberg region, the peasants of Hegau destroyed a number of
castles, and received reinforcements from the provinces of the Margraviate of Baden. On
May 13 they marched towards Freiburg; on May 18 they bombarded it, and on May 23, the
city having capitulated, they entered it with flying colours. From there they moved towards
Stockach and Radolfzell, and waged a prolonged petty war against the garrisons of those
cities.  The  latter,  together  with  the  nobility  and  other  surrounding  cities,  appealed  to  the
Lake peasants for help in accordance with the Weingarten agreement. The former rebels of
the  Lake  Troop  rose,  5,000  strong,  against  their  former  allies.  So  potent  was  the  narrow-
mindedness of the peasants who were confined to their local horizon, that only 600 refused
to fight and expressed a desire to join the Hegau peasants, for which they were slaughtered.
The Hegau peasants, themselves, persuaded by Hans Mueller of Bulgenbach, who had sold
himself to the enemy, lifted their siege, and Hans Mueller having run away, most of them
dispersed  forthwith.  The  remaining  ones  entrenched  themselves  on  the  Hilzingen  Steep,
where, on July 16, they were beaten and annihilated by the troops that had in the meantime
become  free  of  other  engagements.  The  Swiss  cities  negotiated  an  agreement  with  the
Hegau  peasants,  which,  however,  did  not  prevent  the  other  side  from  capturing  and
murdering Hans Mueller, his Laufenburg betrayal notwithstanding. In Breisgau, the city of
Freiburg also deserted the peasant Union (July 17) and sent troops against it, but because of
the  weakness  of  the  fighting  forces  of  the  princes,  here  as  elsewhere,  an  agreement  was
reached  (September  18),  which  also  included  Sundgau.  The  eight  groups  of  the  Black
Forest  and  the  Klettgau  peasants,  who  were  not  yet  disarmed,  were  again  driven  to  an
uprising  by  the  tyranny  of  Count  von  Sulz,  and  were  repulsed  in  October.  On  November
13, the Black Forest peasants were forced into an agreement, and on December 6, Walzhut,
the last bulwark of the insurrection in the Upper Rhine, fell.
The Peasant War in Germany
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The  Allgaeu  peasants  had,  after  the  departure  of  Truchsess,  renewed  their  campaign
against  the  monasteries  and  castles  and  were  using  repressive  measures  in  retaliation  for
the  devastations  caused  by  the  Union  army.  They  were  confronted  by  few  troops  which
braved only insignificant skirmishes, not being able to follow them into the woods. In June,
a movement  against  the honourables  started  in  Memmingen which  had  hitherto remained
more or less neutral, and only the accidental nearness of some Union troops which came in
time  to  the  rescue  of  the  nobility,  made  its  suppression  possible.  Schapelar,  the  preacher
and leader of the plebeian movement, fled to St. Gallen. The peasants appeared before the
city  and  were  about  to  start  firing  to  break  a  gap,  when  they  learned  of  the  approach  of
Truchsess  on  his  way  from  Wuerzburg.  On  June  27  they  started  against  him,  in  two
columns,  over  Babenhausen  and  Oberguenzburg.  Archduke  Ferdinand  again  attempted  to
win  over  the  peasants  to  the  House  of  Austria.  Citing  the  armistice  concluded  with  the
peasants, he demanded of Truchsess to march no further against them. The Suabian Union,
however,  ordered  Truchsess  to  attack  them,  but  to  refrain  from  pillaging  and  burning.
Truchsess, however, was too clever to relinquish his primary and most effective means of
battle,  even  were  he  in  a  position  to  keep  in  order  the  Lansquenets  whom  he  had  led
between  Lake  Constance  and  the  Main  from  one  excess  to  another.  The  peasants  took  a
stand  behind  the  Iller  and  the  Luibas,  about  23,000  in  number.  Truchsess  opposed  them
with 11,000. The positions of both armies were formidable. The cavalry could not operate
on  the  territory  that  lay  ahead,  and  if  the  Truchsess  Lansquenets  were  superior  to  the
peasants in organisation, military resources and discipline, the Allgaeu peasants counted in
their ranks a host of former soldiers and experienced commanders and possessed numerous
well-manned  cannon.  On  July  19,  the  armies  of  the  Suabian  Union  opened  a  cannonade
which was continued on every side on the 20th, but without result. On July 21, Georg von
Frundsberg  joined  Truchsess  with  300  Lansquenets.  He  knew  many  of  the  peasant
commanders who had served under him in the Italian military expeditions and he entered
into negotiations with them. Where military resources were insufficient, treason succeeded.
Walter Bach and several other commanders and artillerymen sold themselves. They set fire
to  the  powder  store  of  the  peasants  and  persuaded  the  troops  to  make  an  enveloping
movement, but as soon as the peasants left their strong position they fell into the ambush
placed by Truchsess in collusion with Bach and the other traitors. They were less capable
of defending themselves since their traitorous commanders had left them under the pretext
of  reconnoitering  and  were  already  on  their  way  to  Switzerland.  Thus  two  of  the  peasant
camps were entirely disrupted. The third, under Knopf of Luibas, was still in a position to
withdraw  in  order.  It  again  took  its  position  on  the  mountain  of  Kollen  near  Kampten,
where it was surrounded by Truchsess. The latter did not dare to attack these peasants, but
he  cut  them  off  from  all  supplies,  and  tried  to  demoralise  them  by  burning  about  200
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